Beyoncé is a little too young to have watched the “Carter Country” sitcom that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1979 — when Richard Paul’s Mayor Teddy Burnside character would dismissively tell his subordinates to “Handle it, handle it.”
Well, five decades later, the new boss of “Carter Country” is none other than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
On Tuesday, the hottest new cowgirl in the game announced that “Carter Country” would be the title of the country-themed “Act II” of her “Renaissance” trilogy — in a nod to her married name as the wife of Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
Anticipation has been building to Country Bey’s album-length arrival after she dropped the twangy twosome of “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages” on Super Bowl night Feb. 11.
Since then, “Texas Hold ’Em” — a bluegrassy bop that has sparked many a two-stepping TikTok — made Beyoncé the first black woman to hit No. 1 on the country chart.
And then, for good measure, Queen B went on to become the first African-American woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart with a country song.
Beyoncé, 42, made her announcement with a social-media post featuring a pic of a red, white and blue sash emblazoned with the album title draped over a saddle.
But upon further inspection, when you go to Beyoncé’s website to pre-order the LP — and other “Cowboy Carter” merchandise — that doesn’t appear to be the album cover.
There has been much speculation about what special guests Beyoncé might have on her eighth solo studio LP — and one name that keeps coming up is Dolly Parton.
The Queen of Country herself hinted that Bey at least covered one of her beloved classics.
“Well, I think she has!” she told Knox News. “I think she’s recorded ‘Jolene,’ and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about.”
“I love her!” continued Parton, 78. “She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
Whether or not this “Jolene” cover actually appears on “Carter Country,” it’s clear that Dolly and Beyoncé will always love each other.
“We’ve kind of sent messages back and forth through the years,” said Parton.
“And she and her mother were like fans, and I was always touched that they were fans, and I always thought she was great.”